The bottom of Rio’s hoof from a recent farrier visit. See the damage?

Freya; learning how to learn

Retraining a frightened horse to lift her feet

Lift your feet–  Ephesians 4:31-32 states, ‘Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ, has forgiven you.

What attracted me to this verse is the reference to wrangling. That is, in fact, the job title of those who work with horses. A job title that suggests that we will encounter some level of turbulence or unwillingness with the horse. At the minimum, there will be a conversation with the horse about how today’s program will roll out. But I think it would be short-sighted if wrangling is where we left it- with the expectation that horse and human cannot work in unity together. I’ve heard people say that the horse ‘really doesn’t want to be with you.’ And while I think that can be true of moments, my limited experience has shown me the opposite is also true. I’ve had the experience of mutual enjoyment. Sitting quiet out on a ride together, a horse dozing while I am grooming, or feeling a gentle touch from behind that lets me know my horse has come close and is connected.

I believe it is part of my job to make my horse want to enjoy the work. Two ways we build contentment is by building respect and repour- both of which require time. Many people say you have to have the horse’s respect, and you do, but that is not the stopping point.

How does that play out when you are on the ground and the horse is at the other end to the lead rope? Or how about this, what does this look like when you are alongside/under an 11 month old teaching her to lift her feet? -could be a nervy proposition! Freya’s hooves are already BIG. Koa’s, our full-grown Draft, hooves are as big as dinner plates.   Bottom line, I really DO NOT want to wrangle hoof-cleaning. I want to teach her. I want to show her that lifting and holding her feet is something we do peacefully and can even feel good.  For her health, we must lift her feet to clean her hooves and keep them free of damaging stones, caked and hardened mud, leftover manure…you get the picture. Cleaning hooves is not high-level of performance or exciting, but a very, very basic skill and essential one. Think human equivalent of brushing your teeth.

Horses learn to learn. Once she learns one process, like backing up or turning, she can gain confidence in another area, and it begins to flow into all the other elements Freya needs to be a healthy, well-trained horse. I cannot train a horse if my methods are incompetent, but competence means correct language, a firm resolve, and a gentle, patient spirit. And as the Scripture says, …put away all wrangling…put on kindness, being tenderhearted…as God, in Christ. Amen.

Our horses are a community affair. Would you consider donating for hay, farrier care, repairs to tack, medication, or even sponsoring Freya or your favorite horse? Please join us on the the horse adventure!